A Sea Change

About the Project

Imagine a world without fish. It's a frightening premise, and it's happening right now. A Sea Change follows the journey of retired history teacher Sven Huseby on his quest to discover what is happening to the world's oceans. After reading Elizabeth Kolbert's "The Darkening Sea," Sven becomes obsessed with the rising acidity of the oceans and what this "sea change" bodes for mankind. His quest takes him to Alaska, California, Washington, and Norway as he uncovers a worldwide crisis that most people are unaware of. Speaking with oceanographers, marine biologists, climatologists, and artists, Sven discovers that global warming is only half the story of the environmental catastrophe that awaits us. Excess carbon dioxide is dissolving in our oceans, changing sea water chemistry. The more acidic water makes it difficult for tiny creatures at the bottom of the food web to form their shells. The effects could work their way up to the fish one billion people depend upon for their source of protein.

A Sea Change is also a touching portrait of Sven's relationship with his grandchild Elias. As Sven keeps a correspondence with the little boy, he mulls over the world that he is leaving for future generations. A disturbing and essential companion piece to An Inconvenient Truth, A Sea Change brings home the indisputable fact that our lifestyle is changing the earth, despite our rhetoric or wishful thinking.

A Sea Change is the first documentary about ocean acidification, directed by Barbara Ettinger and co-produced by Sven Huseby of Niijii Films. Chock full of scientific information, the feature-length film is also a beautiful paen to the ocean world and an intimate story of a Norwegian-American family whose heritage is bound up with the sea.

The goal of A Sea Change is to educate the audience about the issue of ocean acidification, both by providing hard facts and by offering emotional stakes, questioning what legacy will be left if Western civilization continues on the course we have set. As Matter Network wrote in its review: "Ocean acidification is such a scary problem that many people would rather not think about it -- kind of like climate change. But "A Sea Change" goes a long way toward making this uncomfortable topic oh-so-human." And Laura Ballou wrote in the DC Examiner: "The most important piece of the documentary for me was the hope it gave. Sven Huseby and Barbara Ettinger not only presented the problems of ocean acidification, but more importantly they explored the solutions to it. A Sea Change inspires us to change so that we may become a sea of change for the world's oceans."

The Fledgling Fund Impact

The Fledgling Fund is pleased to support audience engagement for A Sea Change. We believe that this film has an extraordinary ability to expose an environmental concern that is vastly underrepresented in the media. The story of rising ocean acidity helps us to piece together the complex story of our environment and will inspire people to encourage their elected officials to pay attention to this critical issue.